New Elite Helmets

[fun4now]

not shore what you mean about charging the battery's, i just hang mine in the shop (not in the bag) and its been great for 6-7years. just recently starting to blink the change battery's light. its soler assisted so keeping it in the bag cant be great for battery life. as for temp ?? i know some have reported problems but don't know the temp they start at. i have never had this problem but don't use mine out in the winter, just in the shop in winter so about 35-40 deg. F. is about as low as mine is used in when i first start to heat up the shop, and thats not often or for long.
welcome to the site, good to have ya.

[Pitalplace]

I have always stored mine in the house where it is warm. When I go out it has always worked well in the colder temps. The only difference is I store it in the bag on a shelf, in the closet. It's been about five years and no problem with the batteries.

[fun4now]

Pitalplace I have always stored mine in the house where it is warm. When I go out it has always worked well in the colder temps. The only difference is I store it in the bag on a shelf, in the closet. It's been about five years and no problem with the batteries.

good to know you can leave it in the bag and still get good bat. life. i think 5 years is your $'s worth on a set of battery's. well its a lot longer than most.
mine just hangs on a bicycle hook( the ones that have plastic coating and look like this ? ) above my welding table. easy to grab and still secure enough i know it wont fall on accident.

[c wagner]

not shore what you mean about charging the battery's, i just hang mine in the shop (not in the bag) and its been great for 6-7years. just recently starting to blink the change battery's light. its soler assisted so keeping it in the bag cant be great for battery life.

fun4now I'm not to sure about your storage theory. I would think solar assist means it uses the battery to darken initially and then the solar takes over so the battery isn't used. I highly doubt that it charges it's self while hanging on the wall. It has the auto off feature but you could run the risk of it staying on if it is sensitive enough to darken when directed at the light in your work space. Not a big deal when you shut the lights off, but if it has the auto on feature it may turn back on next time you turn the lights on in your work area.
Not a problem if it's in the bag!!!
With battery life in the 2000 to 3000 hr range as listed in the brochure I don't think you will have problems anytime soon! 2-3000 hrs is a pile of welding time when you think about it. If your welding machine can display arc hrs just check it out next time you get a chance, you might be surprised.

As for the temp. part of the question I'm not sure about this helmet but my auto helmet is rated to -10c (14f) and +70c (158f) just to give you an idea.

[kuziken]

Thanks for all the input everyone, ive been welding for about 6 years now and this is my first auto darken helmet. I was worried that one day the batteries would be dead when i go to use it and i would flash myself.

Let me tell you, it was really hard for me getting use to this helmet.... i would weld and then ask my self "Did it darken?" "Do my eyes hurt?" and then i would thing about it so much i would give myself a headache All in all though i wish i had one when i first started welding.

Ken

[fun4now]

keep in mind it dose not have to darken to protect your eyes. all the big namers have 100% UV protection even in the off state. so even if you did get a flash it would just be bright and cause spots for a few sec. then be ok again. its not like getting flashed without any hood if its not turned on. when i first got mine i forgot to turn it one a few times, it was no big deal.ok a lot of times. i also use it for plasma cutting in the off state to give me a lighter screen. never had my eyes hurting at bed time after a day in the shop welding with my BWE.
as for the battery's just being dead one day. i don't know about all the auto hoods but the Miller BWE has a low battery warning light. mine has been flashing for a few months now but is still working fine. so you will have some warning before the battery's are dead.

[Blown S-10]

a big BS on the 2-3000 hr battery life

i am now searching to find out what battery/s it takes. and i have NOWHERE NEAR 100 hrs on mine

[usmcruz]

i am now searching to find out what battery/s it takes. and i have NOWHERE NEAR 100 hrs on mine

Dont search too far, just look inside your helmet at the top, Rookie . There should be a label that tells you the battery it takes. For my black miller elite helmet, it takes two CR2450 batterys that you can get at wal-mart. They look like watch battery's.

[rbertalotto]

I just got my Elite (Stars and Stripes)...What a huge improvement over my older Jackson. Much larger viewing area. Much easier to see before I start welding. Very comfortable.......vGot it from a vendor on Amazon.com for $269.00....

[tasslehawf]

Which vendor? I didn't see the dig. elites on Amazon when I checked yesterday.